“Barbi, hang on,” I whisper through gritted teeth.
She doesn’t hear me.
Only her arm is now above the surface, sinking down by the second.
I could let go.
I could let her be swallowed by the lake as I’d intended to, fulfill the spell and get back my Moe.
Then I’d be fine, too.
But that’s the coward’s way out, and I find that I have been a coward for far too long.
Barbi sinks even more. I move my hand down her arm, holding her better. If we are to be lost to this torment, at least we will do it together.
Soon the water gets a hold of me too.
I feel the first touch of the cold red liquid against the tips of my fingers, and an indomitable force surrounds me. Like an endless vacuum, it yanks me down until I am fully submerged.
The visibility is low. The blood-red liquid is almost opaque. But I can still make out her shape.
I can no longer feel my limbs, nor feelher.
She is next to me, her hand still in mine. Her eyes are closed, her expression serene.
I try to move, to get closer to her and shake her awake so we can both leave this place. But even as that thought crosses my mind, I know it to be impossible.
No one leaves the lake until the lake permits it.
Slowly, I become paralyzed. My mind, too, becomes sluggish, until awareness seeps out of me.
I know what to expect when I finally lose myself.
That does not mean I am prepared for it.
Yet my last thought is the same old regret.
If only I had done things differently, then none of this would be happening.
Moe would still be alive. Mine.
And Barbi would go on to live her life oblivious to the name Nykander v’Kyro.
Alas, the fates must really abhor me…
It is dark at first.So dark, I cannot tell where I am, or if I stillam.
Yet from that darkness, a dim light appears, together with the echo of determined steps heading towards me.
Hells click against the floor, and the light follows this elusive figure.
As she steps in front of me, now fully illuminated, she raises her gaze to meet mine. A smirk pulls at her lips.
Her light blonde hair flows down her shoulders, framing a heart-shaped face with high cheekbones, full lips and a pair of beautiful brown eyes.
She tilts her head to the side, studying me brazenly.
“We meet at last, Nykander v’Kyro,” she murmurs in a self-assured tone.
